Tabs

I'm not all together sure every coupling in a romance needs to end up with marriage. Maybe it's because I've been married for more than a few happy years that I can be so cavalier. But after reading a slew of pretty spicy menages (I've been on kind of a marathon binge this past week), I'm a little tired of the HEA endings that commence in marriage. I've even put a few books down at that point. It occurs to me that I have yet to write a proposal and wedding into a plot line, even in the one book where my characters eventually get married. Call me a rebel, (you might be on to something if you do) but I think I avoid writing the whole marriage as the perfect ending on purpose. Not that I never will, and not that I haven't read some amazingly rewarding endings that focused on the nuptials--my hesitation is in getting caught up in a formula. Some of my favorite books leave the final details open for interpretation. Maybe they get married, maybe they don't. I like the idea of imagining the continual progression of the relationship. It keeps me thinking about the story I've read long after I've finished it. Any thoughts?